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Tag - Mosaid

Google has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, alleging that Microsoft and Nokia are using patent trolls to stifle competition in the smartphone sector. The search giant hopes that the two companies will held accountable for their alleged collusion, and that it's complaint will spur others to take similar action in the coming months.

Apple is facing yet another lawsuit, as Mosaid subsidiary Core Wireless Licensing accuses the handset maker of infringing on eight patents. The suit targets several current Apple devices, including most iPhone and iPad variants, along with any similar products that the company will release in the future.

Frequent patent-based attacker Mosaid on Monday said its shareholders had greenlit a plan that would sell the company to Sterling Fund Management for $570 million, or slightly less than the $590 million mentioned in October. It should close by the end of this week. Sterling's exact aims weren't mentioned with the deal.

Barnes & Noble got an important win late this week after the ITC agreed (PDF) to make requests to Canada and Finland for evidence from patent holder Mosaid as well as Nokia. The calls would have Mosaid supply documents for its deal with Nokia through a letter rogatory, or a non-binding request to a foreign court. Nokia, meanwhile, would be asked for testimony from CEO Stephen Elop and other executives under the Hague Convention's Article 3, in which case the court wouldn't have much choice but to comply.

Barnes & Noble in its defense against Microsoft has countered with a 43-page list of prior art that it believes invalidate Microsoft's supposedly Android-related patents. The examples often go back over 16 years and include software as far back as NCSA's Mosaic browser, the precursor to Netscape and Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. The strategy would only need a handful of prior art claims to negate Microsoft's case.

A common source of mass patent violation lawsuits, Mosaid, was bought out on Friday by private equity group Sterling Partners. The deal, worth about $590 million Canadian ($594 million US), will see Sterling take on the task of managing 2,000 Nokia patents as well as the others that Mosaid owns. Both Nokia and its new mobile OS partner need to approve the deal, which should close if approved in December of January.

Mosaid in a statement Wednesday pressed share owners to turn down a second, $480 million Canadian ($488 million USD) buyout offer from Wi-LAN. Following an earlier deal, Mosaid claimed that the cash being offered was "clearly inadequate and highly opportunistic." It was even more so now that Mosaid was managing 2,000 Nokia patents through a takeover of Core Wireless, chairman Carl Schlachte said.

Wi-LAN continued its profiteering campaign on Friday by starting litigation against key computer and phone makers. The Ottawa firm targeted Apple, Alcatel-Lucent, Dell, HP, HTC, Kyocera, Novatel, and Sierra Wireless for all allegedly violating two patents, the first related to CDMA voice and HSPA 3G while the second touched on LTE 4G and Wi-Fi. As in most of its lawsuits, Wi-LAN is claiming damages but is known to be hoping for a settlement instead.

Mosaid signaled the likely start of a rash of new patent lawsuits after it reached a deal to manage 2,000 Nokia patents. The deal, which sees it take control of Core Wireless Licensing, will let Mosaid license out and sue over alleged infringements of 1,200 "standards-essential" patents for 2G, 3G, and 4G, as well as 800 general wireless implementation patents. Rather than pay for the patents directly, it was gambling that it could pay for the deal through royalties and lawsuit payouts in the future.

An offer of $480 CAD million ($490 million) by patent troll Wi-LAN directly to the shareholders of Mosaid Technologies, a similar company, has been proposed on Wednesday. Mosaid asked its shareholders on Thursday to ignore the offer, however, according to a recent report. Mosaid rejected an earlier, more direct offer from Wi-LAN.

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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

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Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]

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Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera

Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

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Apple employees testing wheelchair features

New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

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SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards

SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

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Upgrades/storage163d

Apple's third-quarter results due July 26

Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

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Investor164d

Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users

Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE